German Bad vs. English bad- Tricky False Friends in German and English

The German noun "Bad" and the English adjective "bad" are false friends (also known as "false cognates") because even though they may look like twins, their meanings have no connection whatsoever. In this post, I will explain the difference in meaning between the German bad and the English word.

The German noun "das Bad" translates as "the bathroom" in English, while the English "bad" translates as "schlecht" in German. So, contrary to what the spelling might suggest, there is no connection at all. So Michael Jackson certainly didn't have the German word in mind when we wrote his brilliant song.

The last ten entries in our blog series revealed that there is no relation between the German Art and the English art, German fast and the English fast, the surprising meaning of a German Gift, English also and its meaning in German, the English "bald" vs. the German "bald", the difference between “brand” vs ”Brand”.

On our German Language Blog "Auf Deutsch, bitte!", you will find posts on how long it takes to learn German, a review of language learning apps Duolingo, Memrise, Babbel, Quizlet, and Busuu, explaining adjective ending rules in German.